Directional escape behavior in allis shad (Alosa alosa) exposed to ultrasonic clicks mimicking an approaching toothed whale

Adaptive echolocation behavior of bats and toothed whales in dynamic soundscapes

Journal of Experimental Biology has a long history of reporting research discoveries on animal echolocation, the subject of this Centenary Review. Echolocating animals emit intense sound pulses and process echoes to localize objects in dynamic soundscapes. More than 1100 species of bats and 70 species of toothed whales rely on echolocation to operate in aerial and aquatic environments, respectively. The need to mitigate acoustic clutter and ambient noise is common to both aerial and aquatic echolocating animals, resulting in convergence of many echolocation features, such as directional sound emission and hearing, and decreased pulse intervals and sound intensity during target approach. The physics of sound transmission in air and underwater constrains the production, detection and localization of sonar signals, resulting in differences in response times to initiate prey interception by aerial and aquatic echolocating animals. Anti-predator behavioral responses of prey pursued by echolocating animals affect behavioral foraging strategies in air and underwater. For example, many insect prey can detect and react to bat echolocation sounds, whereas most fish and squid are unresponsive to toothed whale signals, but can instead sense water movements generated by an approaching predator. These differences have implications for how bats and toothed whales hunt using echolocation. Here, we consider the behaviors used by echolocating mammals to (1) track and intercept moving prey equipped with predator detectors, (2) interrogate dynamic sonar scenes and (3) exploit visual and passive acoustic stimuli. Similarities and differences in animal sonar behaviors underwater and in air point to open research questions that are ripe for exploration.

Silver, bighead, and common carp orient to acoustic particle motion when avoiding a complex sound

Behavioral responses of silver carp (Hypopthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (H. nobilis), and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) to a complex, broadband sound were tested in the absence of visual cues to determine whether these species are negatively phonotaxic and the roles that sound pressure and particle motion might play mediating this response. In a dark featureless square enclosure, groups of 3 fish were tracked and the distance of each fish from speakers and their swimming trajectories relative to sound pressure and particle acceleration were analyzed before, and then while an outboard motor sound was played. All three species exhibited negative phonotaxis during the first two exposures after which they ceased responding. The median percent time fish spent near the active speaker for the first two trials decreased from 7.0% to 1.3% for silver carp, 7.9% to 1.1% for bighead carp, and 9.5% to 3% for common carp. Notably, when close to the active speaker fish swam away from the source and maintained a nearly perfect 0° orientation to the axes of particle acceleration. Fish did not enter sound fields greater than 140 dB (ref. 1 μPa). These results demonstrate that carp avoid complex sounds in darkness and while initial responses may be informed by sound pressure, sustained oriented avoidance behavior is likely mediated by particle motion. This understanding of how invasive carp use particle motion to guide avoidance could be used to design new acoustic deterrents to divert them in dark, turbid river waters.

Clicking for supper

When close to prey, porpoises actively widen their sonar beam, which may make it harder for the prey to escape.

Anisakis infection in allis shad, Alosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1758), and twaite shad, Alosa fallax (Lacépède, 1803), from Western Iberian Peninsula Rivers: zoonotic and ecological implications

Spawning individuals of allis shad, Alosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1758), and twaite shad, Alosa fallax (Lacépède, 1803), were sampled from three rivers on the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula (Ulla, Minho, Mondego) during 2008 to 2013 to assess the presence of the zoonotic marine parasite Anisakis spp. larvae. The results revealed that both shad species were infected by third-larval stage Anisakis simplex s.s. and Anisakis pegreffii. The latter is reported in mixed infections in both shad species of Western Iberian Peninsula for the first time. In A. alosa, the prevalence of Anisakis infection can reach 100%, while in A. fallax, prevalence was up to 83%. Infected individuals of the former species also often contain much higher number of parasites in theirs internal organs and flesh: from 1 to 1138 Anisakis spp. larvae as compared to 1 to 121 larvae, respectively. In general, numbers of A. pegreffii were higher than those of A. simplex s.s. Our results suggest that in the marine environment of the Western Iberian Peninsula, both anadromous shad species act as paratenic hosts for A. simplex s.s. and A. pegreffii, thus widening the distribution of the infective nematode larvae from the marine to the freshwater ecosystem. This finding is of great epidemiological relevance for wildlife managers and consumers, considering the zoonotic and gastroallergic threats posed of these parasites.

Experimental evidence of threat-sensitive collective avoidance responses in a large wild-caught herring school

Aggregation is commonly thought to improve animals' security. Within aquatic ecosystems, group-living prey can learn about immediate threats using cues perceived directly from predators, or from collective behaviours, for example, by reacting to the escape behaviours of companions. Combining cues from different modalities may improve the accuracy of prey antipredatory decisions. In this study, we explored the sensory modalities that mediate collective antipredatory responses of herring (Clupea harengus) when in a large school (approximately 60 000 individuals). By conducting a simulated predator encounter experiment in a semi-controlled environment (a sea cage), we tested the hypothesis that the collective responses of herring are threat-sensitive. We investigated whether cues from potential threats obtained visually or from the perception of water displacement, used independently or in an additive way, affected the strength of the collective avoidance reactions. We modified the sensory nature of the simulated threat by exposing the herring to 4 predator models differing in shape and transparency. The collective vertical avoidance response was observed and quantified using active acoustics. The combination of sensory cues elicited the strongest avoidance reactions, suggesting that collective antipredator responses in herring are mediated by the sensory modalities involved during threat detection in an additive fashion. Thus, this study provides evidence for magnitude-graded threat responses in a large school of wild-caught herring which is consistent with the “threat-sensitive hypothesis”.

Ultrasonic predator-prey interactions in water-convergent evolution with insects and bats in air?

Toothed whales and bats have independently evolved biosonar systems to navigate and locate and catch prey. Such active sensing allows them to operate in darkness, but with the potential cost of warning prey by the emission of intense ultrasonic signals. At least six orders of nocturnal insects have independently evolved ears sensitive to ultrasound and exhibit evasive maneuvers when exposed to bat calls. Among aquatic prey on the other hand, the ability to detect and avoid ultrasound emitting predators seems to be limited to only one subfamily of Clupeidae: the Alosinae (shad and menhaden). These differences are likely rooted in the different physical properties of air and water where cuticular mechanoreceptors have been adapted to serve as ultrasound sensitive ears, whereas ultrasound detection in water have called for sensory cells mechanically connected to highly specialized gas volumes that can oscillate at high frequencies. In addition, there are most likely differences in the risk of predation between insects and fish from echolocating predators. The selection pressure among insects for evolving ultrasound sensitive ears is high, because essentially all nocturnal predation on flying insects stems from echolocating bats. In the interaction between toothed whales and their prey the selection pressure seems weaker, because toothed whales are by no means the only marine predators placing a selection pressure on their prey to evolve specific means to detect and avoid them. Toothed whales can generate extremely intense sound pressure levels, and it has been suggested that they may use these to debilitate prey. Recent experiments, however, show that neither fish with swim bladders, nor squid are debilitated by such signals. This strongly suggests that the production of high amplitude ultrasonic clicks serve the function of improving the detection range of the toothed whale biosonar system rather than debilitation of prey.

Acoustic gaze adjustments during active target selection in echolocating porpoises

Visually dominant animals use gaze adjustments to organize perceptual inputs for cognitive processing. Thereby they manage the massive sensory load from complex and noisy scenes. Echolocation, as an active sensory system, may provide more opportunities to control such information flow by adjusting the properties of the sound source. However, most studies of toothed whale echolocation have involved stationed animals in static auditory scenes for which dynamic information control is unnecessary. To mimic conditions in the wild, we designed an experiment with captive, free-swimming harbor porpoises tasked with discriminating between two hydrophone-equipped targets and closing in on the selected target; this allowed us to gain insight into how porpoises adjust their acoustic gaze in a multi-target dynamic scene. By means of synchronized cameras, an acoustic tag and on-target hydrophone recordings we demonstrate that porpoises employ both beam direction control and range-dependent changes in output levels and pulse intervals to accommodate their changing spatial relationship with objects of immediate interest. We further show that, when switching attention to another target, porpoises can set their depth of gaze accurately for the new target location. In combination, these observations imply that porpoises exert precise vocal-motor control that is tied to spatial perception akin to visual accommodation. Finally, we demonstrate that at short target ranges porpoises narrow their depth of gaze dramatically by adjusting their output so as to focus on a single target. This suggests that echolocating porpoises switch from a deliberative mode of sensorimotor operation to a reactive mode when they are close to a target.